55 gallon tank kit questions

[papa_bear_21]

I am in the market for a 55 gallon tank, having not really found anything on craigslist or similiar places, I am looking at a new kit. This will house my freshwater tropical community, and the current 29 will likely be turned into either a brackish, or salt fowlr tank. My questions are as follows:

1) is the marineland kit a good setup, or would you recommend a different setup? If you recommend a different setup, please explain.

2) I have an AC50 filter already working in conjunction with my AC30 on the 29, can I move that over to the 55 with few problems? would you recommend running the kit filter along side the AC50, or junking it? I do intend to upgrade to a canister filter for the larger tank.

3) what are the dimensions on a 55 gallon tank, I need to know to know if it will fit on my current table or not. I have roughly 4 inches on each side of the 29 gallon.

3) In regards to lighting, I know the marineland kit comes with 2 flourescent strips, would that be enough light for a tropical non planted tank? I have 3 great khuli's, 2 pleco's, 2 bleeding heart tetra's, 2 black skirt tetra's, 4 mickey platy's, 1 silver with red tail platy, 1 baby guppy, 1 baby black mollie, and 3 black mollies.

Thanks for the help in advance,

Bear

 

[rich311k]

1. No idea I am not a big fan of kits.

2. Filter will be fine with you current fishload. Add the cannister and it will seed from the ACs. Then add more fish if you want to.

3.) A 55 gallon is 4 foot long and weighs 550 plus pounds. I hope that is a very sturdy table.

3).Plenty of light for a non planted tank.

 

[papa_bear_21]

I know its a sturdy table, its an old desk with a half inch solid wood top, and solid wood legs. I might actually look into building a stand for the tanks here soon.

Thank you for the help, very useful info as always

 

[newfound77951]

If the table doesn't have a leg in the center I might add one...if the table starts to bow down in the center you could have a big problem on your hands very quickly. But a couple of 2x4s as a brace in the center would help.

Personally I would avoid a kit, I find the equipment tends to be lousy, and you'll just end up replacing the parts later and spend more. I would buy the tank locally and get everything else online from Big Als or Dr F&S.

 

[melosu58]

I agree that kits just aint what they cranked up to be. Usually they are cheap material and not that great.I have my reservations on the desk. I think it`s just too much weight IMO.

 

[ryan]

yah the tank opn the desk may be a bad idea as they can get extremly heavy when full of water...and if u have rocks in the tank that will make it even more heavy....as for the kit i would say no i was looking at one but decided not to buy one instead bought a tank then got 2 ac 50s for really cheap built my own canopy it was much cheaper then a kit. good luck

 

[mike3epanda]

u shud just build your own stand... you would like it better and wouldn't have all that extra space on the sides.. oh and make sure the top is really level.

 

[papa_bear_21]

well, I bought an all glass 55 gallon tank, it is currently sitting on an empty but sturdy storage box with a 3/4 inch piece of board under it. I will be working on the stand design, as well tank lid and canopy with light mounted on the roof of the canopy. The lid itself is going to be acrylic, and made to my specs. I am going to be making it myself, and attempting to design it so that it goes up over the filter to keep the splashing to a minimum...

 

[nycfatcow]

Personally I would avoid a kit, I find the equipment tends to be lousy, and you'll just end up replacing the parts later and spend more. I would buy the tank locally and get everything else online from Big Als or Dr F&S.[/quote]

Definately agree....i think that kits are a rip... they are so much cheaper on these online sites....I had a nice strong eheim canister as my filter that did a great job on my FW tank. They hold a lot of media and different layers of sponges....and what i liked the most about eheims are that they are extremely quiet!! Some of them even have a built in heaters....if your willing to pay for the more expensive ones.... just my 2 cents